No abstract available.
Pensions*

With the accelerating process of population aging in China, social pension system has been rapidly developed, but its service quality remains poor. How to provide quality and efficient elderly care services has become a major livelihood issue of general public. The existing evaluation standards for service quality in the elderly care institutions vary greatly in terms of literature review and practice, and they have only single perspective and lack systematic review. Based on the three-dimensional theory of "structure-process-result" quality evaluation, this paper systematically compares and evaluates the evaluation index system and evaluation management mechanism of service quality of pension institutions in typical countries and regions, and provides an evidence-based basis for establishing an evaluation management system, which is in line with China's national conditions and covers evaluation principles, subject and object, regulation, rewards and punishments, and classifications.
Aged ; Aging ; China ; Humans ; Pensions ; Research

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between retirement preparation and depressive symptoms among Koreans 50 years of age or older. We used data from the 2009 to 2013 Korean Retirement and Income Panel Study (KReIS), which included data from the 365 baseline participants of 50 years of age or older. Our sample included only newly retired participants who worked in 2009, but had retired in the 2011 and 2013. To monitor the change in depressive symptoms according to retirement preparation, we used repeated measurement data. We measured depressive symptoms using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) 20-item scale. In addition, we measured retirement preparation using a single self-report question asking whether the participant was financially ready for retirement. We evaluated relationship between retirement preparation and depressive symptoms after multivariable adjustment. Compared to subjects who had prepared for retirement (reference group), participants who had not prepared for retirement had increased depression scores (β = 2.49, P < 0.001). In addition, individuals who had not prepared for retirement and who had low household income had the highest increase in depression scores (β = 4.43, P < 0.001). Individuals, who had not prepared for retirement and without a national pension showed a considerable increase in depression scores (β = 3.02, P < 0.001). It is suggested that guaranteed retirement preparation is especially important for mental health of retired elderly individuals with low economic strata.
Aged* ; Depression* ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Family Characteristics ; Humans ; Mental Health ; Pensions ; Retirement*

OBJECTIVE: To study the characteristics of a sample of suicide victims from the Athens Greater Area using the psychological autopsy method for the first time in Greece. METHODS: We studied all recorded cases of completed suicide for the 2-year time period November 2007-October 2009 collecting data from the victims' forensic records as well as from the completion of a psychological autopsy questionnaire. RESULTS: 335 persons were recorded as suicide victims. We contacted relatives of 256 victims interviewing those of 248 of them (96.9%). The differences regarding sex, marital and employment status between our sample and the general population were statistically significant (p<0.001). The male/female ratio was 3:1. Comparatively more victims were divorced, separated or single and a greater proportion were pensioners or unemployed. 26.0% of the victims had history of prior attempts (64.4% once, 20.3% twice and 15.3% more times). 42.6% were taking psychiatric medication-significantly more women than men according to blood tests; 14.2% had been hospitalized in a psychiatric clinic the year prior to their death. 84.8% have deceased at the place of suicide and 15.2% died in the hospital; 80.3% died indoors and 19.7% outdoors. Men died primarily by hanging or shooting by a firearm while women preferred jumping from height instead (p<0.001). As many as 48.8% had expressed their intention to die to their relatives; 26.6% left a suicide note. CONCLUSION: Our study has shown that the psychological autopsy method is applicable and widely accepted yielding results comparable to the international literature. Specific parameters associated with suicide have been studied for the first time in Greece.
Autopsy* ; Divorce ; Employment ; Female ; Greece* ; Hematologic Tests ; Humans ; Intention ; Male ; Pensions ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Suicide*

PURPOSE: Laparoscopic Burch colposuspension (LBC) is a feasible surgical procedure for stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Initially, transperitoneal laparoscopic Burch (TLBC) operation was performed, but lately, extraperitoneal laparoscopic Burch colposus pension (ELBC) has been developed as a minimally invasive procedure. The aim of this study is to compare the safety and efficacy of TLBC versus the ELBC in treating the women with SUI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively compared 13 cases TLBC with 30 cases ELBC performed between April 1995 and September 1998. Parameters of evaluation included operation time, length of postoperative hospital stay, postoperative catheter ization days, complications, and cure rate. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between the two approaches in operation time and postoperative catheterization days. The postoperative hospital stay of ELBC was statistically shorter than that of TLBC. The mean times to follow-up were 51.2 months (TLBC) and 32.3 months (ELBC). At last follow-up, success rate were 11 of 13 (84.6%) of TLBC and 27 of 30 (90%) of ELBC. The postoperative complication rate were 8 of 13 of TLBC and 14 of 30 of ELBC. As results, ELBC and TLBC are considered as effective surgical method for stress urinary incontinence due to hypermobility. CONCLUSIONS: ELBC and TLBC are considered as effective surgical method for stress urinary incontinence due to hypermobility.
Catheterization ; Catheters ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Length of Stay ; Pensions ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Urinary Incontinence*

At the end of 2009, the number of registered disabled was 2,430,000 in South Korea. Of them, 90% originated from acquired causes such as diseases or accidents. Although disabilities are everyday problems that can be met by anybody, disabilities had been a problem that people tried to conceal. However, social recognition of the disabled has been developing with changes in the social environment. The government of the Republic of Korea has upgraded the policy on disabilities from benefaction to social security. The Korean government tries to support a variety of welfare systems for the disabled. Specifically, jobs for the disabled are going to increase from 3,400 positions in 2010 to 10,300 in 2011. The pension system for the disabled, introduced in July 2010, will be continuously supplemented. If a personal care assistance system for the disabled is introduced beginning in October 2011, the number of supporting personnel who will visit and provide nursing services to the disabled will increase from 30,000 at present to 50,000 at the end of 2011. Besides the above welfare system for the disabled, people should participate in the prohibition of discrimination against the disabled and the improvement of social recognition to the disabled. After that, social participation by the disabled will be expanded so that an integrated society based on the rights of the disabled can be realized in Korea.
Disabled Persons ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Human Rights ; Humans ; Korea ; Long-Term Care ; Nursing Services ; Pensions ; Republic of Korea ; Social Environment ; Social Participation ; Social Security

This study was conducted to assess the risk of breast cancer by menstrual, reproductive, and lactational factors in Korean women. A total of 210 women living in Seoul aged 30 to 60 with a first diagnosis of breast cancer from 2 teaching hospitals in Seoul, and 249 control subjects, randomly selected from the female pensioners of Korean Medical Insurance Company living in Seoul were interviewed. There was a increasing risk with the decrease of age at menarche, and the adjusted odds ratio(OR) of early menarche(age 14 years or less compared with over 17 years) was 1.61(95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.95-2.74). The longer the interval between menarche and regular menstruation, the less risk of breast cancer(OR=0.31, 95% CI: 0.16-0.60). The effect of these menarche factors were more prominent among premenopausal women. The adjusted OR for the second category(25-29 years old) of the age at first pregnancy and the age at the first full term pregnancy, compared to the reference category( 24 years old), were 0.52(95% CI: 0.30-0.92) and 0.58(95% CI: 0.32-1.06), respectively. The late age at the last full term pregnancy had significant protective effect (OR=0.29, 95% CI: 0.10-0.88), and the age itself was important rather than the interval between the first and last full term pregnancy. Factors related to breast feeding(BF) had protective effect consistently. Among parous women, in referent to no BF, women with 1 year of BF had adjusted OR of 0.34(95% CI: 0.17-0.68), while those with 1-3 years of BF had 0.35(95% CI: 0.18-0.67), 3-5 years had 0.29(95% CI: 0.12-0.74), and more than 5 years had 0.06(95% CI: 0.02-0.17). Age at menarche with regular cycle have stronger effect on especially pre-menopausal breast cancer among Korean women. Recent increase in breast cancer incidence in Korea would be explained by delayed age at first pregnancy or delivery, earlier age at menarche and last delivery, and decrease in brest feeding.
Breast Feeding ; Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Case-Control Studies* ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Hospitals, Teaching ; Humans ; Incidence ; Insurance ; Korea* ; Menarche ; Menstruation ; Pensions ; Pregnancy ; Seoul

The incidence of hearing impairment is increasing due to growth of the population of the elderly, industrialization and noise exposure. Evaluation of hearing impairment are frequently made in purpose of compensation, indemnification or welfare policy of the disabled. Evaluation of hearing impairment is a process to diagnose and to evaluate the disability under objective criteria. Several domestic and international standards have been proposed including legal acts such as the disable welfare law, industrial accident compensation insurance and the national pensions act. There are also medical counsel standards such as Korean academy of medical sciences disability evaluation standards, disability standards of American medical association and disability evaluation of McBride. In order to assess the hearing impairment fairly, thorough understanding about the difference of the purposes and standards of each guideline of hearing impairment is needed. Therefore in this article, the domestic and the international standards for the evaluation method of hearing impairment which was revised recently and their differences are discussed.
Accidents, Occupational ; Aged ; American Medical Association ; Compensation and Redress ; Disability Evaluation ; Hearing ; Hearing Loss ; Humans ; Incidence ; Insurance ; Jurisprudence ; Noise ; Pensions ; Industrial Development

In Korea, the need of medical care is high in persons with disabilities. But the health care system, especially the continuum of long-term rehabilitation care for the persons with disabilities is not well established. Under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), the pressure to open up the health care market has been increased in Korea. This article examines the health care system of developed countries (USA, UK and Japan) with review of the health policies, laws, income security and pensions, payment systems, medical rehabilitation facilities, and home health services for the persons with disabilities. And this article also discusses the process of the health care market opening in Korea, the debating issues, the implications for the domestic medical market, and the matter of concern in rehabilitation medicine field. In the viewpoint of the rehabilitation medicine, the transitional services and home health services for the persons with disabilities should be prepared, and the public health should be expanded as the social network of the persons with disabilities, before the health care market is fully opened up.
Delivery of Health Care* ; Developed Countries* ; Disabled Persons* ; Health Care Sector* ; Health Policy ; Health Services ; Humans ; Jurisprudence ; Korea ; Pensions ; Public Health ; Rehabilitation

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to review the compensation and development direction of occupational accidents including occupational diseases of workers who do not apply industrial accident compensation insurance. METHODS: We reviewed laws and related articles about compensation for occupational accidents of public officials, private school teachers and staff, soldiers, fishermen, and farmers, and compared each system and presented problems and solutions. RESULTS: Public officials, private school teachers and staff, and soldiers were provided compensation for the occupational accidents by the state in the form of pensions. Safety accident insurance for farmers was a form of voluntary subscription, but the individual had to pay the remaining premiums even though there were over half of the national burden. Although there were differences in the degree of professionalism in approval system of occupational accidents in the fields of public officials, private school teachers and staff, and soldiers, there was a deliberative body composed of experts, but fishermen and farmers were in fact considering deliberations on the compensation of insurance companies. Like the industrial accident compensation insurance, the prevention fund was not legally enforced in all fields. CONCLUSION: Processes for compensation for occupational accidents was somewhat similar. However, scientific and rational deliberations were difficult to achieve consistently. There was a lack of systems to prevent disasters and institutionalize rehabilitation for returning to work after a disaster. It is necessary to introduce a consistent system for reasonable compensation, disaster prevention, and return to work according to the risk level of the special population.
Accidents, Occupational ; Compensation and Redress* ; Disasters ; Farmers* ; Financial Management ; Humans ; Insurance ; Insurance, Accident ; Jurisprudence ; Military Personnel* ; Occupational Diseases* ; Pensions ; Professionalism ; Rehabilitation ; Return to Work